Industrial plants and power plants utilize water from nearby water sources for cooling purposes. Aquatic life (e.g., fish, fish eggs, larvae, zebra mussels, vegetation, etc.) in the surrounding water body is often negatively impacted by entrainment within the cooling system water intakes. Cooling systems are also negatively impacted by the entrainment of sediments and debris from the surrounding water body. Entrained contaminants within the cooling systems can result in system failures due to damaged components and costly shut-downs for frequent maintenance and/or repairs.
Floating barrier or containment/exclusion boom systems have been installed at these water intakes to deal with these problems. These boom systems are optimal for some situations, but the size of the system can be a problem when the boom system encroaches upon navigable waters. For example, in circumstances when a large volume of water is drawn through the containment/exclusion boom system and into a water intake system, the traditional containment/exclusion boom system can encroach upon the water intake structure. It is often necessary, therefore, to move the containment/exclusion boom system further away from the water intake structure, thereby encroaching upon navigable waters and creating hazards to navigation. Thus, it would be desirable to produce an alternative filtration system which avoids this problem.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming these deficiencies.